1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system for using a microphone in an object at a sporting event.
2. Description of the Related Art
When attending a sporting event, it is advantageous to have seats close to the playing field in order to see well and hear the sounds of the game. For example, when attending a baseball game fans in seats close to the field can hear the sounds of the bat hitting the ball, the ball being caught, players sliding into a base, collisions, and other sounds from the playing field. Viewers and listeners of broadcasted sporting events cannot hear all of these sounds and, therefore, may feel isolated from the game and do not always get drawn into the excitement of the event. If broadcasters could make the viewers and listeners feel closer to and more involved with the game, viewers would be less likely to turn off the television (or radio), change channels or focus their attention elsewhere. Thus, there is a need to allow viewers and listeners to hear more sounds from the playing field so that they feel closer to and more involved with the game.
In the past, television broadcasters have put microphones around the perimeter, but outside of, the playing field. These microphones can pick up spurious crowd noise as well as noise from players when the players are not on the field. However, these microphones do not reliably pick up sounds from the playing field.
Putting microphones directly on players may allow viewers to hear the players talking; however, these microphones will not detect a lot of interesting sounds from the field and may interfere with or annoy the players.
Other attempts to broadcast sounds from the playing field include hanging microphones from the ceiling of indoor arenas. These microphones, however, do not get close enough to the playing field to detect all of the interesting sounds and this solution is not practical for an outdoor stadium.
Thus, there is a need for a system that uses microphones within the playing field that do not interfere with the play or view of the game, and that can reliably pick up and transmit sounds from the playing field.